Abstract: Burn wounds are a good place for germs to grow and cause infection. Escherichia coli is one of the most common gram-negative bacteria causing burn infections. Gentamicin antibiotic is usually used to treat this infection. Despite the beneficial effects, long-term antibiotic treatment can lead to side effects, such as disruption of the gut-brain axis. According to studies, phage therapy can be a suitable alternative to antibiotics in the treatment of bacterial infections. In this study, the therapeutic effect of the antibiotic gentamicin and lytic bacteriophage against Escherichia coli and its impact on the memory of animals was investigated. 24 adults’ male rats were divided into control, gentamicin, and phage treatment groups. All groups, after anesthesia, a third-degree burn was created in the lower back area and infected with100µl of half McFarland suspension of Escherichia coli bacteria. After one hour, treatment with antibiotic gentamicin (40mg/kg) or lytic phage (100µl/rat) was performed for four days. Then, memory was evaluated with the help of passive avoidance test, a new object recognition test and motor activity. In both new object detection and passive avoidance tests, in the group treated with gentamicin antibiotic, memory significantly decreased compared to the control group (P<0.001). While the phage treatment group did not show any significant difference with the control group (P>0.05). Measurement of motor activity did not show any significant difference between experimental groups (P>0.05). It seems that unlike antibiotics, phage therapy does not have a damaging effect on memory along with the treatment of infection.
